Roll towel dispenser

ABSTRACT

A greatly simplified roll towel dispenser having far fewer parts than conventional dispensers is shown. The dispenser also has a minimal carbon footprint using recycled materials throughout and a sealed battery for primary power. With the simple dispensing mechanism battery life of months is possible as are remote and portable applications.

This invention relates to roll towel dispensers and more particularly to environmentally sensitive means for providing recycled toweling for wiping/drying uses having a minimum carbon foot print. With the increasing attention being paid to global warming and the attendant environmental factors believed to be causing the warming it has become increasingly important to reduce to the minimum the creation of pollution and consumption of natural resources. Recycling has thus become important in all aspects of modern life. The toweling/wiping industry is one such activity and the present invention is an attempt to improve significantly the long term environmental impact thereof.

BACKGROUND

Continuous roll towel dispensers have been available for many years. Generally they have involved a loop of cloth towel material fed out of a first slot of a cabinet and taken up through another slot. Various manually operated and power operated devices have been developed and there are literally hundreds of patents covering this art. Recently the towel material has included various paper and synthetic products as well as the traditional cotton and linen products. Machines dispensing individual sheets of paper and sheet portions tom from rolls of paper are also well known in the industry. All of these machines have become increasingly sophisticated and complicated in part to address their impact on the environment, and while the effect of paper in its various forms versus cloth has been and continues to be debated in the industry, the need for an environmentally friendly low carbon footprint wiping/drying solution has become preeminent.

OBJECTS AND SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

Accordingly it is a primary object of the present invention to provide a greatly simplified roll towel dispenser that can be made largely of recycled material and will permit easy reuse of the toweling/wiping material.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a roll towel dispenser device in which the clean toweling is easy to install and the used toweling is easy to remove and reprocess for additional use.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a roll towel dispenser in which the toweling is contained totally within the dispenser cabinet with no exposure to the user except when actually required for a drying/wiping operation.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a roll towel dispenser in which the used toweling material is completely retracted into the dispenser cabinet after use so that it can not be accessed from the outside by vandals or other unauthorized users.

It is yet another object of the present invention to provide a simplified take up reel spindle that may be easily installed in the dispenser and easily removed from a roll of used toweling.

It is a still further object of the present invention to provide a dispenser in which gravity feeds the clean toweling out of the cabinet after unrolling from the supply.

It is another object of the present invention to provide a roll towel dispenser that can dispense a variety of web materials without machine modifications.

These and other and further objects of the invention are achieved in an embodiment in which an enclosure has a pair of spaced apart vertical end plates therein joined by an horizontal shelf forming an upper compartment for a roll of clean toweling; a horizontal feed roll is rotateably mounted between said end plates along the front edge of said plate; a used material take-up spindle is rotateably mounted between said plates below said shelf; a pivotably mounted wall plate is hung below said shelf on the bottom front edge of the shelf extending to adjacent the rear edge of an opening in the bottom of the enclosure; individual gear motors are mounted on said end plates to power said feed roller and take-up spindle; computer control means are used to operate the motors and a battery is used to power the apparatus.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a front perspective view of the dispenser of the present invention mounted on a wall with the toweling shown in the actuated ready to use position;

FIG. 2 is a front elevation of the apparatus with the front housing and door removed;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view taken on the center line of FIG. 1 looking to the right with the towel in the actuated ready to use position;

FIG. 4 is a view similar to FIG. 3 but with the towel in the fully retracted position;

FIG. 5 is a perspective view of the take-up spindle; and

FIG. 6 is a view similar to FIG. 4 with another tension sensor.

DESCRIPTION OF A PREFERRED EMBODIMENT

Referring now to FIG. 1 the towel dispenser 10 is shown with its base 12 mounted on a wall portion 14 with the front housing 16 which is pivotally mounted at the top of base 14 in the closed position. A loop 18 of toweling is shown in the actuated ready to use position. Inside the housing 16 the very simple structure includes a pair of spaced apart end plates 20 (see FIG. 2) mounted on the base 14. Mounted between the plates 20 is a shelf 22 which at it front edge has a lip portion 24 (see also FIG. 3 & 4). Journaled in end plates 20 just above shelf 22 is feed roller 26. The surface of roller 26 is preferably formed from a rubber like material to provide good frictional contact with toweling when a roll of toweling 34 is placed on the shelf 22. Also journaled between plates 20 is the take-up spindle 28. Gear motors 30 and 32 are mounted on the outer surface of the right hand plate 20 and drive the roller 26 and spindle 28 respectively. These motors ar typically low voltage DC motors and are powered by battery 60 mounted on the upper portion of base member 12. Motion sensor 50 is mounted on the inside of the lower portion of front housing 16 and initiates the feed and retract cycles.

The simplicity of the mechanism can be more fully appreciated by referring to FIGS. 3 & 4. A roll 34 of toweling material is placed in the upper compartment formed by the shelf 22. The free end of toweling is then withdrawn from the bottom of roll 34, over roll 26 and fed down into the lower compartment and threaded through the spindle 28 after first passing about shaft 36 in the FIGS. 3 & 4 embodiment. Shaft 36 is journaled in a hole in the left hand plate 20 and a small vertical slot 38 in the right hand plate 20. This serves as a tension control limit as will be explained in detail herein. A pivotally mounted door 40 is hung from the under side of shelf 22 and extends to just past the lip 42 of an opening 46 in the front housing 16.

Roller 26 powered by motor 30 feeds toweling from the bottom of roll 34 out off the shelf 22 and by gravity causes it to fall down the inside of front housing 16 and out the slot 46 to form the loop 44. Tension in the toweling is released while the toweling is being fed out by roll 26 to form the loop 44 and, door 40, tends by gravity to move from the “fully rewound position” (See FIG. 4) to contacting lip 42 to close the lower compartment and help direct the fresh toweling down the inside of the front housing and out the slot 46 where it can be grasped by a user. Loop 44 may be easily used to dry hands or wipe other objects as desired. Spindle 28 is fixed during this fresh toweling feed cycle.

After the toweling loop 44 has been used and the sensor 50 no longer senses any motion, a signal is sent to motor 32 to rotate spindle 28 to wind up and retract all the previously exposed toweling loop. This retract cycle is completed when the tension in the toweling causes shaft 36 to be raised and trip a sensor mounted on the right hand end plate to shut off motor 32 resulting in the condition shown in FIG. 4. In addition to the tension sensor actuated by shaft 36 to shut off further retracting of the loop 44 a sensor and program in the computer board 52 senses excessive pulling on the toweling material such as might be encountered if an arm or hand were caught in loop 44 and causes motor 30 to immediately feed toweling material into loop 44 relieving the tension and allowing the safe removal of any obstruction. The amount of fresh toweling fed out to relieve the obstruction is generally limited to one or two cycles. This feature will also limit damage from deliberate attempts to damage the dispenser since the gear motors 30 and 32 can not be forced into reverse rotation by excessive pulling on the toweling material. As may be seen in FIG. 4 when the dispenser is in the “fully rewound” state it is virtually impossible to gain access to the interior of the housing or even exert enough tension on the toweling to trigger this safety feature.

FIG. 6 shows an alternative way to sense toweling tension to shut off the rewind motor 32. In this embodiment the computer senses the motor current and when it senses the increased “stall” current condition it turns off power to motor 32 resulting in the condition shown in FIG. 6. Door 40 will function in the same manner to close the take-up compartment as in FIGS. 3 & 4.

Referring now to FIG. 5 the spindle 28 is formed by a flat sided elongated U shaped two tine fork with the open end adapted to fit into a bushing fixed on the shaft of motor 32. The closed end of fork 28 has a hole adapted to engage a stub shaft 56 formed on spring arm 58 secured to the outside of the left hand end plate 20 (see FIG. 2). This also allows the easy removal of the completely retracted roll of toweling from the machine by simply flexing arm 58 to the left in FIG. 2 to withdraw the stub shaft from the hole in the closed end of the U shaped spindle 28. Spindle 28 may also be collapsed and easily pulled out of the wound up used toweling.

The computer board 52 is mounted on the right side end plate and is programed to perform at least the following steps namely: power up; check for cover open; check for towel fully rewound; check for movement pulses; turn on towel feed; check for movement pulses; turn off towel feed; turn on towel rewind; check for towel fully rewound; disable movement and turn on “call attendant” upon preselected conditions occurring. Other operations may be added as required.

While there are given above certain specific examples of the invention and its application in practical use,it should be understood that they are not intended to be exhaustive or to be limiting of the invention. On the contrary, these illustrations and explanations herein are given in order to acquaint others skilled in the art with this invention and the principles thereof and a suitable manner of its application in practical use. 

1. A device for dispensing predetermined segment lengths of a continuous web of material comprising in combination: a base member adapted for mounting on a suitable surface; a front housing adapted to be connected to said base member to from an enclosure; a lower compartment formed in said enclosure to receive processed segment lengths of web material; an upper compartment formed in said enclosure and extending forward of said lower compartment to receive a supply of continuous web material; an opening formed in the bottom of said front housing adjacent the front thereof; web material feeding means positioned in said upper compartment adjacent the front edge thereof to feed web material, from a continuous supply thereof when placed in said compartment, over said front edge to cause said web material to cascade down past said lower compartment and outward through said opening formed in the bottom of said front housing; web material take-up means mounted in said lower compartment rearward of said cascaded web material for retracting web material into said housing through said opening formed in the bottom of said front housing adjacent the front thereof; separate individual motor means operatively connected to said web material feeding means and said web material take-up means; sensing means for indicating a requirement for feeding of web material out of said housing and, retracting of said web material into said housing; control means for operating said motor means in accordance with the indication of said sensing means; and power means for operating said motor, sensing, and control means mounted within said housing; whereby a segment of said continuous web material is positioned outside of said housing only when specifically required for a wiping/drying use.
 2. The invention as claimed in claim 1 further including a roll of toweling material positioned in said upper compartment and the distal end of said roll of toweling connected to said take-up means.
 3. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said upper and lower compartments are formed by: a pair of spaced apart vertical end plates mounted on said base member; a horizontal shelf mounted between said end plates at the approximate midpoint thereof; said feeding means comprises a roller mounted across the forward edge of said horizontal shelf member; and said take-up means comprises an elongated, flat sided U shaped spindle member rotatably mounted between said vertical end plates in said lower compartment.
 4. The invention as claimed in claim 3 further including a swinging door member mounted under said shelf adjacent the front edge thereof; said door member extending downwardly to adjacent the rearward edge of said opening in the bottom of said front housing.
 5. The invention as claimed in claim 3 wherein said motor means comprise individual DC gear motors mounted on one of said vertical end plates with one driving said feeding roller and one driving said spindle member; and said power means comprises a battery mounted inside said enclosure.
 6. The invention as claimed in claim 4 wherein said motor means comprise individual DC gear motors operatively connected to said feeding roller and said take-up spindle member; said DC gear motors can not be reversed by pulling on said web material; said control means stops said feeding roller motor means before said take-up motor means to tightly tension said web material between said feeding means and said take-up means to rigidly position said door member in the fully web rewound position.
 7. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said motor means comprise low voltage DC gear motors; and said power means comprises an AC to low voltage DC converter.
 8. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sensing means includes web material tension sensing means; said control means includes means responsive to said tension sensing means to stop rewinding of said web material when said tension exceeds a predetermined amount and to automatically feed additional web material; whereby injury to users of said dispensing device is prevented.
 9. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said sensing means comprises at least one motion detecting sensor mounted in said enclosure adjacent the front bottom of said front housing.
 10. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said web material take-up means comprises an elongated, flat sided, U shaped spindle pivotally mounted within said lower compartment; and a gear motor operatively connected to said spindle for rotation thereof.
 11. The invention as claimed in claim 1 wherein said control means includes computer and software for performing at least the following steps: power up; check for cover open; check for towel fully rewound; check for movement pulses; turn on towel feed; check for movement pulses; turn off towel feed; turn on towel rewind; check for towel fully rewound; disable movement and turn on call attendant upon preselected conditions.
 12. (canceled)
 13. The method of providing a segment of continuous toweling for a wiping/drying use which comprises: positioning a quantity of clean continuous toweling in an upper compartment of a dispenser cabinet; sensing a requirement for a quantity of toweling for a wiping/drying operation; feeding out a predetermined length of said clean continuous toweling; causing said predetermined length of clean toweling to cascade vertically downward through an opening in said dispenser cabinet to an exterior position therefrom; feeding the distal end of said predetermined length of clean toweling through said opening in said dispenser cabinet behind said cascading clean toweling into a compartment of said dispenser cabinet below said upper compartment and displaced rearwardly from vertical alignment therewith; sensing the completion of a wiping/drying operation; rewinding said predetermined length of toweling into said lower compartment and removing all toweling from the exterior of said dispenser cabinet.
 14. The invention as claimed in claim 13 wherein said distal end of clean toweling after use is fed to said lower compartment back through the same opening in the dispenser cabinet as the predetermined length of clean toweling exits said cabinet.
 15. The invention as claimed in claim 14 further including sensing the blocking of the rewinding of said predetermined length of toweling back into said dispenser cabinet; causing a further length of clean toweling to be withdrawn and cascaded down through said dispenser cabinet opening.
 16. The invention as claimed in claim 14 further including providing a pivotally mounted door member between said upper and lower compartments to inhibit entry of toweling into said lower compartment except when rewinding toweling fed out from said dispenser cabinet.
 17. A device for dispensing incremental lengths of a continuous web of material comprising in combination: a dispenser structure having upper and lower material compartments and each compartment having an opening for passage of material therethrough; an outer housing adapted to be connected about said dispenser structure so as to form an open bottomed vertical space between said housing and said upper and lower material compartments; a quantity of continuous web material positioned in said upper compartment; a take up spindle rotatably mounted in said lower material compartment selectively operatively attached to the distal end of said web material; power means for dispensing selected portions of said web material into said open bottomed vertical space formed between said outer housing and said dispenser structure so as to fall downwardly therethrough and out said open bottom; power means for rotating said take up spindle to wind up said web material when operatively attached to the distal end of said web material; and control circuit means for selectively actuating said power material dispensing means and take up spindle power means to provide a loop of web material for performing a wiping/drying operation outside of said outer housing and upon completion thereof withdrawing said web material completely within said outer housing.
 18. The invention as claimed in claim 17 wherein: the used web material after a wiping/drying operation is fed into said lower compartment through said open bottom of said vertical space behind said portions of web material fed from said upper compartment; and a door like member is mounted under said upper compartment extending downwardly to effectively close the opening in said side of said lower compartment during feeding of web material from said upper compartment.
 19. The invention as claimed in claim 18 wherein: said quantity of continuous web material is a roll of said material; said web material is fed off said upper compartment from the bottom of said roll of web material; and after completion of a wiping/drying operation said web material is completely withdrawn into said housing and said door is caused to effectively contact with said used web material wound up on said take up spindle to close off said bottom compartment; whereby access to said web material in said upper and lower compartments from outside the dispenser is effectively blocked.
 20. The invention as claimed in claim 18 further including: a feed roller mounted across the front edge of said upper compartment opening for feeding web material into said open bottomed vertical space; a frictionally enhanced surface formed on said feed roller; and said power means for feeding web material from said upper compartment and rotating said take up spindle include independent DC gear motors and a battery mounted in said dispenser structure.
 21. The invention as claimed in claim 20 further including: a sensor for detecting the need to extend/retract a loop of web material for a wiping/drying operation is mounted within said outer housing and connected to said control circuit means to selectively initiate a web material dispensing/retracting function. 